Northern Central Railroad / Hereford Volunteer Association, Inc.

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Northern Central Railroad / Hereford Volunteer Association, Inc.

We are a non-profit group that lends support to the Torrey C Brown/NCR trail area of Gunpowder Falls State Parks. Brown Rail Trail.

We raise funds and create activities that reflect good stewardship of the trail. Please visit our website at tcbncrtrail.org to donate. The Northern Central Railroad / Hereford Volunteer Association, Inc. is a non-profit group that was chartered in 1995. We support the Gunpowder Falls State Parks in the Hereford Area and Torrey C. We are an all volunteer staff and put our efforts into trail mainte

nance, education programs, providing limited services on the trail, and raising money to support the trail.. Our vision is to cultivate an encounter for park users that is enjoyable, engaging, and constantly fixed on the notion of improvement to develop Gunpowder Falls State Park, Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail and the Hereford Area into a regionally recognized experience.

06/16/2026

See you at Monkton Station tonight!

Join the NCR/Hereford Volunteer Association tonight, Tuesday, June 16, at 7:30 PM for our monthly group meeting at the station. Come hear about our upcoming trail maintenance and museum projects.

Make an evening of it: Grab lunch or dinner at Woodfire Kitchen in Hereford anytime between 11:30 AM and 8:00 PM today. Mention our group name, and 20% of your bill is donated directly to support the trail.

Eat well, support the trail, and then join us at the station!

06/15/2026

The momentum is building rapidly at Monkton Station! Hot on the heels of last week’s announcement, we are proud to share that the NCR/Hereford Volunteer Association has also been formally awarded a $30,000 grant from the Middendorf Foundation.

Combined with our recent Preservation Maryland grant, this represents a total $40,000 investment that allows us to further commit to our 2026 priority: creating a top-class interpretive museum right here on the trail.

A project of this scale takes a village. Thank you to our dedicated volunteers and community partners who make this work possible. Look for future posts about volunteer opportunities, and consider joining us as a member to help bring this history to life.

Stay tuned as we share specific opportunities for you to get involved hands-on with our upcoming museum projects!

06/14/2026

Dinner plans for Tuesday = Solved.

Don't forget, this Tuesday, June 16, is the third Tuesday of the month, which means it's our monthly trail gathering! We're making it a habit to support the trail and connect as a community.

The Tuesday Routine:

Dinner (11:30 AM – 8:00 PM): Grab lunch or dinner at Woodfire Kitchen in Hereford. Mention the NCR/Hereford Volunteer Association when you order (dine-in or carryout), and 20% of your bill is donated to our projects.

The Meeting (7:30 PM): Head right over to Monkton Station after dinner for our monthly group gathering.

Come out, eat well, and stay to hear about our latest trail maintenance and museum updates. See you there!

06/12/2026

The NCR Trail is alive.

From a quiet doe napping by the falls to the vibrant wildflowers and towering sycamores lining the path, the flora and fauna of the Torrey C. Brown Trail are what make every outing unique.

This beautiful moment was beautifully captured by Mary Anderson for our current Photo Challenge. It reminds us just how lucky we are to share this corridor with local wildlife, surrounded by the incredible plant life of the Gunpowder Valley.

Are you keeping an eye out for the trail's natural wonders on your walks, hikes, or rides? Whether you catch a lucky snapshot of a blue heron, a close-up of a blooming native orchid, or a dramatic canopy of summer green, we want to see it!

Don't let those photos sit on your phone—share your favorite shots of the trail's ecosystem with the community.

Deadline: July 4, 2026
Submit your entry here: https://tinyurl.com/yy8hzau8

06/10/2026

Big news for Monkton Station! We are thrilled to announce that the NCR/Hereford Volunteer Association has been awarded a $10,000 Heritage Fund grant from Preservation Maryland.

This funding brings us a major step closer to transforming the station interior into a dynamic, professional museum and interpretive center. Specifically, these funds allow us to acquire a dedicated computer, high-resolution scanning equipment, and archival software to launch our upcoming NCR History Harvest events.

A modern museum is built with its community. Soon, we will be inviting you to bring your historic photographs, letters, and memories of the railroad and our trailside towns right to Monkton Station. Our volunteers will perform high-resolution digital scanning on-site so you can take your original family treasures safely back home, while ensuring their place in our shared digital archive. We will also begin recording oral histories to preserve the voices of our region.

Follow our page to learn more about the NCR History Harvest and to be the first to know when we announce our official launch dates. Stay tuned next week as we share more updates on our museum plans and additional funding milestones.

06/08/2026

Make it a habit: Dinner for the trail, then join the meeting!

We are starting a new monthly tradition. For the next four months, the third Tuesday of every month is officially NCR Trail night at Woodfire Kitchen in Hereford.

Our next event is Tuesday, June 16 (11:30 AM – 8:00 PM).

How it works:

Eat Well: Grab lunch or dinner (dine-in or carryout).

Support the Trail: Mention the NCR/Hereford Volunteer Association when you order, and 20% of your receipt will be donated back to our trail maintenance and other group projects.

Join the Meeting: Head over to Monkton Station right after dinner for our monthly group gathering at 7:30 PM.

Make it a monthly habit to support the trail we all love!

06/06/2026

Today is National Trails Day, so get out and enjoy the trail! Stop at our kiosk at Monkton, we have a small token of appreciation for using the trail.

06/05/2026

Join us on Thursday June 11th at 1 pm for a virtual lecture that explores the intimate relationship between the railroad and the Underground Railroad, with a detailed focus on how the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad supported the movement of freedom seekers before the Civil War. Chartered in Baltimore in 1827 as the first commercial railroad in the United States, the B&O connected key cities along routes to freedom, including DC to Baltimore, a critical passage to the north where slavery was outlawed.
Jonathan Goldman is Chief Curator at the B&O Railroad Museum, where he has led the museum’s curatorial vision since 2019, overseeing exhibitions, archives, collections, historic grounds, and visitor experience. Jonathan led the museum team that documented 27 Freedom Seekers who used the B&O Railroad on the Underground Railroad and the museum’s resulting designation as a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site.

ASL interpretation will be available for attendees. Lunch and Learns are recorded and can be found on the YouTube Channel of Enoch Pratt Free Library.

https://calendar.prattlibrary.org/event/lunch-learn-The-Role-of-the-Railroad-on-the-Underground-Railroad

05/30/2026

TRAIL PHOTO CHALLENGE #2 IS OFFICIALLY LIVE!

Wow! Our first photo challenge was a big success. In fact, a selection of the winning photos and other beautiful entries are currently on display at the Monkton Café for the next two weeks! Stop by, grab a coffee, and check out the amazing talent in our community.

Now, we want to do it again! Once again, we want to see your best photos of the Torrey C. Brown (NCR) Trail.

The Challenge: Send us your photos that truly convey the beauty of the trail. Whether it’s a serene morning mist, a vibrant sunset, wildlife, or cyclists enjoying the path, show us what makes this trail so special to you.

The Reward: The best photos will be featured right here on our Facebook and Instagram pages, where our posts are averaging over 100,000 views a month! This is a fantastic opportunity for exposure if you're a budding photographer—or simply gives you ultimate bragging rights to your friends on the trail.

THE RULES:
Theme: All entries must capture "the beauty of the NCR trail."
Originality: All photos must be original, and you must own the work you submit. (Photos owned by third parties or AI-generated images will not be accepted).
Usage: You retain the copyright to your photos. By submitting, you explicitly give us permission to publish them on our social media pages.
Note: Images you have previously shared on your own personal website are fully eligible!

DEADLINE: Entries must be submitted by July 4, 2026! Get your phones and cameras out the next time you are on the trail.

HOW TO ENTER: Ready to share your appreciation for the trail? Submit your photos and view full details here: https://tinyurl.com/yy8hzau8

This beauty is an early entry submitted by Lisa Vanderwal.

05/27/2026

This is what community collaboration looks like!

We are thrilled to share that thanks to your incredible turnout, our recent Texas Roadhouse fundraiser and our trail kiosk donations brought in record-setting support!

A Special Shout-Out: These record-breaking events don't happen by accident. Our phenomenal volunteer, , coordinates and runs these fundraisers. We owe a big thank you to Carol for her tireless work behind the scenes to make nights like May 21st a roaring success!

Whether you showed up for dinner or dropped a donation in the kiosk while out on the trail, you weren't just giving a gift—you were actively protecting local history.

Here is exactly how that generosity translates into real-world action:

Spotting the Need: A recent building inspection flagged clogged gutters as a threat to the historic Monkton Station building.

The Partnership: Our association immediately stepped up, coordinated with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and proposed a solution.

The Results: Using those very volunteer funds raised by you, we swiftly hired professionals to clear the gutters, leaving the station completely protected ahead of summer storms.

This is exactly how a successful community partnership is supposed to work. When the community, our dedicated volunteers, and the DNR collaborate, we keep our favorite trail landmark safe and beautiful.

Every dollar at the kiosk and every meal shared matters. Thank you, Carol, and thank you to everyone who supports our work!

Address

Monkton Station
Monkton, MD
21111

Website

http://www.tcbncrtrail.org/

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